I had attended the food tasting on April 30 together with my mom as H2B is working abroad. Walking distance lang pala ito from Robinsons Ermita & tapat mismo ng Ibarra's Garden ang PAL Training Center. Napansin naming maliit ang parking but it can accommodate 15cars daw & sa ibang streets naman e may pay parking. We entered the venue & we were greeted by some of their staff, asked who invited us to the FT. Nung nasagot ko na questions nila & signed the attendance form, we were directed where to sit at natapat ito sa bar nila. That's the first time I met my AE. Sa totoo lang, medyo nakulitan ako sa AE ko dun, if it's her whose been calling me sa bahay. Nung February 2015 kasi I attended a bridal fair sa Megamall where I first met them. They asked for my details, binigay ko naman. Nagulat na lang ako na ginigising ako ng dad ko (from PM duty pa ako) because I have a phone call from them. Di ko na maalala who I spoke to kasi pupungas-pungas pa ako. I tried to be nice by saying di pa kami makaDecide ni H2B, that I may have to wait for him to come home kasi kahit nga sa simbahan nung time na yun e di kami sure saan talaga kami, sa reception venue pa kaya? Ang defense naman ng AE sa other line is that magtataas na raw ng price by May. Sabi ko sa kanya e kung magtataas kayo, do it. Kasi kung kayo naman talaga ang kukunin namin, kahit pa nagtaas na yung price e kukunin pa rin namin kayo kasi either may nagustuhan talaga kami sa inyo like food or the venue itself. So we hung up & that fateful night, I met the AE who invited me to this FT. Nasa table na kami ng mom ko when a waiter gave us citrus juice & 2 pcs of pre-cocktail food. Nung una he placed it on a napkin then left it at the table then I called on to another waiter to give us a saucer, pwede naman pala. I noticed na dun sa table namin na may kataasan yung vase na ginamit (di na kami magkakitaan ng mom ko) & lanta na yung flowers nung nakatapat sa aming centerpiece. A few more minutes passed then here comes the AE to our table & she gave us a tour of the place, answered our questions satisfactorily, & gave suggestions when it comes to their accredited/recommended suppliers. After this talk, I felt that she was pressuring me into booking them right away, and I'm like "di ko pa nga natitikman yung food nyo e, tikman ko muna then I'll decide." There was a mini-program pala that night, nagShare na kami ng mom ko sa food kasi she wasn't feeling well sayang lang if we get another plate pa na di naman nya mauubos. Karamihan masarap, medyo di ko lang feel yung pumpkin soup nila, might change it to mushroom soup on my wedding. The menu they served that night was All-Inclusive Package Menu III, and masarap talaga yung hickory pork spareribs (yan lang naalala kong name ng dish but the rest masasarap talaga). A few more bites & I know I had to book them, freebies are - waived lechon corkage & carving fee, magnetic upgrade for photobooth & I'm thinking of upgrading the floral centerpieces kahit sa VIP table na lang then sinuwerte pa sa raffle nila to win a mobile bar for 1hour (gusto ko nito but H2B strongly doesn't want one sa reception). Now my concerns are the following:
1. I admit, I'm a budget bride. Marami-rami na rin akong tinipid para sa kasal namin. Mula wedding gown ko, suit nya among others. Nabasa na namin ni H2B yung packages ng Ibarra's sa website nila then he read na yung All-In Package nila is available for a limited time only (which is tapos na rin yung promo period according sa post nila dun) so we chose the next best thing which is De Luxe Package. That night, my pride got a beating when my AE recommended that we get the De Luxe Package, then tinanong ko siya why yun ang inoOffer nya (thinking na tama nga kami ni H2B na limited time offering lang yung All In Package) & her reason was, "e ma'am yan lang kasi yung mas mura." I was appalled by her choice of words. IMO, she could have suggested na we book the lowest package first & when we feel that it's not enough then that's the time she'll offer us an upgrade. Sabihin na natin kanya-kanyang sales strategy yan but ang naramdaman ko talaga that time was minamata or minamaliit nya kami. Kaya namin kunin at bayaran yang All-In Package na yan it's just that may inclusions yan na we consider as "nice to haves" than "must haves" like the tempura station (H2B, my younger brother & I gets an allergic reaction to shrimp, like in my case nagkakaRashes ako na ipinadudulog ko pa sa derma) & yung iba pa na isinama nila e meron na kami. I didn't give that AE a piece of my mind, kung di ko lang kasama mom ko baka inaway ko na siya for what she said. Try ko kaya magrequest na magpalit ng AE? Up to now kasi, I'm still nursing my wounds from that incident. Ayoko rin naman totally iRule out na baka overly sensitive ako that time but I can't work with someone as tactless & callous as her. Hindi sa hindi ako grateful with the freebies she showered us, but baka naman pwede piliin din nya words nya from time to time. Tinext ko siya earlier pero di nagreply, pagbigyan weekend naman kasi. Gusto ko iAddress ito sa kanya, now if di namin maayos ito, palit AE na lang ako. Dito sa Girltalk may suppliers na nagpost din as B2B's or G2B's so if makarating sa'yo my dear AE itong post ko e I'm open for discussion.
2. The styling provided by Clieo's Flowers is too basic. Lanta pa nga yung flowers. The upgrade will cost us Php45000 & the AE mentioned earlier even hinted na mahirap kausapin yung owner/creative director nito as she's always busy handling their other venues too. I'm planning to bring in a mid-level florist/stylist. Any suggestions po?
3. Hindi ko nameet yung QuickPrint photobooth, wait kami buong gabi di naman pala magsetup itong supplier. Maganda kaya outputs nila?
Sorry for the long post, sana may napulot kayo at sana'y matulungan nyo rin ako. Thank you.
